PFA UK

Ever one for Filipino time…We have just been asked to help get designs organised for Philippine United FC.

It is a football team that has been registered with the English Football Association and affiliated with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). Friendlies are being arranged for next year and registration into a minor league is the next step.

The aim is to give British Filipinos a stage to play football and be seen by representatives of the PFF. The ultimate aim is to give them a chance to play for the national team and also give Filipinos in the Philippines the chance to come and play here for this team.

What we need is someone to design a logo and a shirt. The team and project is being put together by Leo Jensen and he will decide on the winning design. The design will be used on team shirts and on all promotional material.

I must stress the winner will not be paid for the design. A press release and announcement in the Philippines is being arranged as we speak and there will be an event with media coverage in mid-January and the winner will be there and interviewed about their design.

The remit is:

Logo: The Philippine Tamaraw, as the name suggests, is only found in the Philippines and it is a small, stocky, strong animal. This has been identified as a positive nickname and symbol. Designs similar to the Chicago Bulls and Toyota range of vehicles must be heavily scrutinized, but both images are iconic to Filipinos too. 3 stars and the sun are a given but the words Philippine United Football Club should feature too.

Shirt: Red, White and Blue are the national colours that should be incorporated. Please bear in mind, potential sponsor logos may clash if there are too many colours on the middle of the shirt.

All designs should be sent to philippinegenerations@googlemail.com and should be received before January.

Although Philippine Generations could not make the Philippine Football trials held in Manchester last Sunday, 17th August, we have heard some great things from Leo Jensen, who runs PFA UK and who also set up the trials. We even saw some footage courtesy of Steven Adolfo!

Despite the long trip up to Manchester, the majority of those at the trial were from London, and the 2 hours hard trial, the boys still had some energy and power to beat the local Manchester East team 7-2! A big thank you has been sent via Leo from president Jose Mari Martinez and all the PFF in Manila, “You have made the Philippines very proud.” Leo would also like to thank all those people who helped and volunteered to make the trial possible.

In fact the boys from London have done so well, it has prompted Leo to rethink strategy and logistics and a new trial will be set up in London ASAP so for those who couldn’t make it, you have a chance closer to home.

As discussed in previous conversations, the Filipino community is over 200,000 people in the UK, with almost 75% of the whole total living in and around London, so it makes sense to base the initiative as close to London as possible.

So what is the next step? More footage is required, the establishment of a Philippines ‘B’/reserve Team here in the UK is on the cards, travel to and from Philippines is a possibility and is very much needed especially with the advent of the 8 team Philippine Premier League! There were even a few who really impressed and their next step is to definitely get to the Philippines…watch this space.

Six British players and 20 FIFA ranking places shows that the future of Philippine football looks very bright…and very British.

If you want to get involved and speak to some of the guys who made it up to Manchester, visit the link below:

Many of the guys from Filipino Footballers (UK) are in the picture above and meet up regularly in Regents Park, as well as play for their own local leagues and amatuer teams. I’m sure like us, you’ll see a few familiar faces!